Japanese developer Hitachi has decided to shut its Horizon subsidy by March 31, 2021, as it abandons plans to build a £20 billion ($27bn) nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey. The move is set to increase the UK’s reliance on gas for power generation, next to renewables.
Danish utility Nature Energy has ordered two biogas upgrading plants from Wärtsilä, each capable to turn over 40 million cubic meters of biogas into biomethane. The plants are scheduled to start injecting green methane into the local gas grid by 2022.
Ken Kawai, CEO of Mitsubishi Power has defined the manufacturer’s 2021 goals as accelerating hydrogen and ammonia cofiring while enhancing economics. “High expectations are held,” he said, for Mitsubishi Power to “improve its productivity” – not least because the unit accounts for 30% of MHI Group’s business.
Striving to get Nord Stream 2 finalised, Germany’s north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania plans to carry out a bulk purchase of construction materials and machinery. These would be made available to companies involved in the project, in an effort to circumvent US sanctions.
Israel-based GenCell has won a tender to deploy its hydrogen-based DC backup solutions for substations built on behalf of the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s state-owned utility. The $6 million contract covers delivery and two years maintenance of the 37 fuel cells.
Upstream dealmakers across Asia Pacific have faced a dismal year but optimism is in the air that 2021 will breathe life back into the market. WoodMackenzie expects a bounce-back as the consolidation among gas producers in North America will put non-core APAC assets up for grabs.
Factoring in health impacts of air pollution into the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) would promote coal-to-gas switching across Asia. Boston Consulting Group finds that levying a price of $40 per ton on carbon emissions in China would render gas-burn 30% cheaper than coal.
Technology changes that come with the energy transition are far-reaching, notably for power grid operators tasked with having to keep the balance between supply and demand. ENGIE is aiming for is a “full 3D” system that is 100% decentralized, 100% decarbonized and 100% digitalized.
An economy recovery in 2021 is expected to trigger a rebound in coal demand, though a short-lived one. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts a 2.6% rise in global coal demand in 2021 – spurred by China, India and Southeast Asia – while Europe strives to stage a ‘green recovery.’
Ansaldo Energia has won a €50 million contract from the Polish chemical company Synthos to supply an 80 MW AE64.3 gas turbine for a combined-cycle unit. The CCGT will replace a coal-fired boiler and provide electricity and process steam for Synthos' chemical manufacturing in Oswiecim.
General Electric is propagating an accelerated deployment of both renewables and gas power to provide decarbonisation at the pace and scale needed to reach climate goals. The US manufacturer aims to reach net zero in its operations by 2020 and decided to exit the new-built coal power market.
Gazprom has over 30,000 workers and engineers engaged in construction of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP), designated to boost gas exports to China through the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline. As of today, the project is 70.5% complete and the first two trains are due operational in early 2021.